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Tag Archives: Science Technology Assessment and Analytics
Protecting Federal Research from Foreign Influence
Federally-funded researchers may face conflicts of interest if they receive funding or other benefits from foreign entities, which may be looking to gain access to that research. One such example was highlighted in May 2020, when a former researcher at … Continue reading
Deconstructing Deepfakes—How do they work and what are the risks?
Last month, Microsoft introduced a new deepfake detection tool. Weeks ago, Intel launched another. As more and more companies follow suit and more concerns arise about the use of this technology, we take a look in today’s WatchBlog at how … Continue reading
The Tech Behind COVID-19 Contact Tracing
Public health officials are working to contain the spread of COVID-19, in part by using contact tracing applications to help reduce transmission rates. Contact tracing identifies infected individuals and notifies their “contacts”—i.e., all the people to whom they may have … Continue reading
The Role and Risk of Herd Immunity When It Comes to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the concept of herd immunity is coming into sharper focus. But with limited information available on critical aspects of COVID-19, the concept remains a murky one. Today’s WatchBlog looks at our recent Spotlight on the … Continue reading
Posted in About GAO, Collections, Coronavirus
Tagged Coronavirus, Karen Howard, pandemic, Science Technology Assessment and Analytics, STAA
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Disease modeling: How Math Can Help In A Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new attention to models of infectious disease. These models are critical tools that scientists—including those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—use to anticipate health care needs and explore options for responding to … Continue reading
Quantum Technology Leaping Toward Reality
Quantum physics is a tough subject to study. Even revered physicist Richard Feynman once wrote that even “physics has given up” trying to fully understand it. But that does not mean human ingenuity cannot harness the mysteries of quantum physics … Continue reading
The Reward and Risk of Expediting COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Development
U.S. scientists are working quickly to develop new tests and vaccines to identify and combat COVID-19. They have already developed 3 kinds of tests and begun development on numerous potential vaccines. Developing a new test or vaccine, however, is a … Continue reading
Superbugs: Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections on the Rise
Some bacterial infections have become difficult, and sometimes impossible, to treat. That’s because the “superbugs” causing these infections have developed the ability to defeat antibiotics—the drugs designed to kill them. While antibiotics do not work on viral diseases like COVID-19, … Continue reading